


can’t hold a candle to me

by starkly



Series: Pepperony Week 2014 [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Pepperony Week, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-25
Updated: 2014-06-25
Packaged: 2018-02-06 03:30:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1842727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkly/pseuds/starkly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony’s terrible at remembering birthdays, but sometimes he gets things right. Or, in which Pepper has a weakness for expensive shoes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	can’t hold a candle to me

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Pepperony Week 2014](http://pepperonyweek.tumblr.com/), Day 2: Pre-relationship.

Pepper’s first year working as Tony Stark’s PA is just as hectic as she expected, and then some. Everyone she knew kept telling her to quit and find something less stressful, but Pepper Potts has never been a quitter. A year comes and goes, and everyone’s alive and well and only one valuable piece of furniture has been set on fire. Pepper considers this a great success.

What she doesn’t expect is the box on her desk two days later.

There’s no tag or card when she goes to inspect it, and she’d worry it was something dangerous if it was on Tony’s desk and not hers. Still, she removes the lid carefully and peeks inside only to find a pair of bright red pumps.

The door to Tony’s office opens and she looks up just in time to see Tony trying to sneak past her with a mug in one hand, looking like he’s nursing a serious hangover.

"Mr. Stark! Whose shoes are these and why are they on my desk?"

Tony blinks like he hadn’t even noticed she was there, then squints at the box with equal confusion. Then the light bulb goes on and he snaps his fingers at her, saying, “Oh! Those are yours.”

"I’m pretty sure I can recognize my own shoes." And she would never buy that shade of red for herself. Way too gaudy.

"No, I mean, I got them for you," Tony says, waving the mug at her. "To celebrate you sticking around for a year. It has been a year, right?"

Pepper stares at him, silent and very much surprised. Finally she realizes he’s asking her a question, and she shakes her head slightly as if to clear it. “A couple days over a year, but yes.”

"Good. Yeah. Happy anniversary or something. My assistants usually don’t stick around very long."

Pepper takes in his disheveled appearance, fairly certain that’s the same outfit he was wearing yesterday. “I wonder why,” she says dryly, unable to hide her smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, stop smirking and find me some coffee, will you? This company doesn’t run itself."

She doesn’t stop smirking. “Of course it doesn’t, Mr. Stark. I do.”

At first she worries that might be a touch out of line, but Tony just smirks back and waves the mug at her again. “I ought to fire you.”

"You just bought me celebratory shoes," she says, raising an eyebrow.

"Good point. I’ll fire you in a week."

"I appreciate the warning." She picks up a file from her desk and hands it to him before he can protest. "There’s coffee in the staff lounge two floors down. Read this while you wake yourself up."

Tony takes the file from her, clutching it and the mug to his chest. “You’re a lifesaver, Pep. Truly. I’m going to install a plaque saying so in the main lobby.”

Pepper just smiles and gently nudges him towards the door. “And I’ll have fresh clothes brought up for you right away, Mr. Stark.”

"This’s why you got the shoes, Potts. This’s why you got the shoes."

While Tony leaves to go get coffee, Pepper sits down at her desk and takes another look at the shoes. They may not be exactly her style, but they are a very fashionable brand. It would be rude of her to reject such an expensive gift from her employer.

She bites at her lip, glancing down the hall, then toes off the shoes she’d worn into work today.

When Tony returns looking far more refreshed, Pepper is waiting for him by his desk. He glances down at her feet and grins at the sight of a pair of very familiar, bright red high heels, but she rolls her eyes at him and hands him a clean suit without another word. She’ll thank him later, when he’s not gloating so much.


End file.
